Issue 23

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Eastern Washington University

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April 1 8, 201 2

Volume 63, Issue 23

Seniors push their game to the next level Photos by Aaron Malmoe

As students prepare for graduation this June, many of them are also looking to their future employment opportunities. For three Eastern football players, Use your smartphone’s QR code reader to download your PDF copy of The Easterner.

that means the possibility of continuing their football careers at the professional level. Read the full story by Fedor Gaponenko on page 9.

Bo Levi Mitchell “Canada is a route I might

Upcoming:

take because it fits my

Did you get the email? EWU Campus Recreation wants your opinion about programs, facilities and additions. You can take their survey here: http://bit.ly/Ihf8iY.

game well just to go out there, sling the ball around and play my game.”

April 20: The Band Invitiation II Finale Concert will be at 6 p.m. in the Music Building Recital Hall.

April 21: The department of music performance, Clarinexus, has been cancelled.

April 23 to 27: Pride Week will conclude with a masquerade in the MPR April 27 from 7-11 p.m.

Renard Williams “Anyone who’s willing to give me an opportunity, I will be blessed to have it.”

Matt johnson “I grew up a Cowboys fan, so visiting there was really cool.

April 24: Don't forget to vote in the ASEWU student primaries.

April 27 to May 10: The graphic design senior exhibition begins with an opening reception on April 27 to May 10 with an opening reception in the EWU Gallery of Art from 6-8 p.m.

In brief: April 20 is “Cover the Night,” an event sponsored by the activist group Invisible Children, starts in the evening on Eastern’s campus. It begins at 8:30 p.m. at AMC at Riverpark Square in downtown Spokane.

Occupy Wall Street calls for, “No work, no school, no shopping, no banking, no trading,” on May 1.

“Occupy May Day,” is a general strike aimed at getting the attention of the one percent. Occupy Spokane is currently working on organizing its own strike in the Spokane area.

The Special Olymics Washington East Region Spring Games will be held at EWU on May 5 and they need 200 volunteers. For information about opportunities available, email Jill Ives at jives@sowa.org.

... But if any team wants me, I’m not going to complain.”

EasternerOnline.com

Getting primed for the primary Record number of candidates run for student government elections

By Frank McNeilly staff writer

frank.mcneilly@gmail.com

An all-time high of 36 candidates are campaigning for council and executive positions in the ASEWU student government this year.

Legislative affairs, technology advancement and student services have the smallest number of candidates running for those positions.

The legislative affairs representative candidates are Corey Metzner and Shelby Pelon.

Metzner is a sophomore running for the ASEWU legislative affairs. He is doublemajoring in government and philosophy.

Metzner graduated from Ballard High School in Seattle where he learned leadership skills as captain of the swim team and as an Eagle Scout.

“In high school, … I was vice president [of the] slam club … which focused on educating people about suicide in recognizing the … warning signs and educating on ways to get help,” Metzner said.

“One of my main focuses I want to do is I want to make sure all the students at Eastern are more connected with the policies,” Metzner said. “[Students] don’t realize how big of an impact they can have themselves in structuring the system.”

“Whether or not you vote for me, take time and carefully consider who you are voting for and know the implications,” Metzner said.

Shelby Pelon is a sophomore running for the ASEWU legislative affairs representative position. She is studying government with hopes

to get a certificate in public policy and administration.

Pelon’s leadership experience at Eastern includes serving as the vice president of standards for the Alpha Omicron Pi sorority as well as the legislative liaison for the ASEWU. “I see it as the bulk of my training,” Pelon said. “I was over in Olympia for a quarter working with the Washington Student Association and fighting for the students at Eastern to make sure that we didn’t have any more cuts coming this next year. The legislatures over there actually heard us, so that’s what I want to continue … with this next year.”

According to an email from Pelon, if elected, she wants to make sure that students get involved in making their voices heard in Cheney and Olympia through vote campaigns, including onand off-campus students.

“What I see as one of our biggest accomplishments is [when] the legislature released the budget a couple of days ago and there were no cuts to higher education this year, which is great,” Pelon said. “That means we’re not really going to see much fluctuation with our tuition, that was the one thing we pushed really hard for over there. elections-page 3

Reed urges youth to voice their votes

By Kristie Hsin senior reporter

khhsin@gmail.com

Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed paid EWU a visit as part of his annual College Civics Tour Tuesday April 17, encouraging students to get more involved and registered to vote.

With a direct focus on heartening student voter

registration, the event took place in Hargreaves Hall Reading Room at 3 p.m.

Reed stressed the issue of young voters having the tendency to be a very “mobile population.”

In addition, he also led students in a game of jeopardy. Topics included vocabulary, government, history and geography.

Though the audience was small in numbers, the par-

ticipation was enormous.

“The majority of it went really well, and I really liked how both teams were really respectful and had fun as well,” said ASEWU Legislative Liaison Shelby Pelon. “And we all knew a lot so that surprised me.”

Organized by the Office of Secretary of State’s College Civics Program, Reed will have visited 45 colleges and universities by the end

of this tour.

He kicked off his annual tour Monday April 9, visiting Centralia College, Clark College, Washington State University Vancouver and The Evergreen State College.

“I think it’s always beneficial … especially the more we can bring public officials to Eastern really helps get our students engaged.

A lot of times students feel

kind of disconnected from Olympia just because we’re so far away. It’s really hard to feel that our vote really matters,” said ASEWU Legislative Affairs Representative Kelli Crawford. “Even if it was just a small but active group, they’ll tell their friends and so hopefully more people will be more open to it next year.” reed-page 5

International students score with World Cup Ocaña's vision for tournament continues beyond his presidency

By Josh Friesen staff writer

jdfreeze08@gmail.com

Among the traditional intramural sports that are available this spring, a new event, the EWU World Cup, will be held on April 25 and 26. ASEWU President Oscar Ocaña brought up the idea of having a soccer tournament with a World Cup flair, complete with teams representing different countries. Ocaña

wanted the tournament to bring students of different backgrounds together.

“When we apply to universities, … we are promised that we are going to have this amazing cultural exchange expeOcaña rience,” Ocaña said. “We have the opportunity to invite our exchange students

to come and join us, but we never do something together.”

According to Ocaña, Eastern has many students of differing cultures. He feels the opportunities for interaction between different backgrounds are limited. While this is the first year of the EWU World Cup, Ocaña hopes that it will becomes an annual tradition at Eastern, encouraging more connection between students of different countries.

“I wanted to come up with an idea where all of us can do an activity together,” Ocaña said.

Ocaña’s vision for the proj-

ect started in the spring of 2011, when he noticed that a group of international students attempted to create the event through the International Student Association. They struggled to get the process up and running. Ocaña shared the same feeling and saw to it that their dreams would be realized.

“When I was elected, I thought, ‘Well, that might be a good opportunity for us to reach out to international students,’” Ocaña said.

The EWU World Cup will enable students to represent a different country. There are eight players to a team.

They will have the opportunity to pick which country they would like their team to symbolize. This does not necessarily mean that everybody on the team has to be of the same background. Mike Campitelli, director of campus recreation programs, said the event is open to all students, and he expects to see students of all races on the same team.

“It’s irrelevant where the eight players come from,” Campitelli said. “It’s a matter of ‘Who do I want to represent?’” world cup-page 9

page

2

news

• april 18, 2012

NEWS

NEWS Students attend weekly sessions with Counseling and Psychological services

By Kristie Hsin

By Trevor Parus

senior reporter

staff writer

khhsin@gmail.com

trevparus@gmail.com

The city of Cheney gears up for its annual Clean Sweep taking place April 21 at the Veterans’ Memorial Park.

The event will be from 9 a.m. to noon Beginning at 8:30 a.m. Volunteers will check in at Veterans’ Memorial Park located on Fourth Street before being divided throughout the city for Clean Sweep.

At noon, volunteers can return to the park for a complementary lunch provided by Dessert Pals, Activate Cellular, Gatto’s Pizza, Corona Village and Fellow Baptist Church. “I’ve lived here my whole life and my grand kids get involved with the Clean Sweep sometimes and it’s a good thing, too.

Kids need to help take care of the area they live in,� said Mary Monree, a Cheney local. “An event like this is great for community building. It’s also a great excuse to be outside in such lovely weather.�

Two dumpster drop-off locations will be available for local residents wanting to dispose of their household garbage and construction debris and metals, such as bikes frames and grills. Furniture disposals are not included. Drop-off locations include Amazing Grace Fellowship, located at 416 Betz Road, and Presley Drive, located across from Fire District Three.

Tire and battery materials can be dropped off for free recycling at the Les Schwab Tire Center on 7 Spokane St. The Cheney Recycling Center, located at 100 Anderson Road, is the designated location for the disposal of yard waste.

For safe disposal of personal documents, Cheney community members can drop them off at the Cheney Federal Credit Union located on 520 First Street. During this “Shred-

Counseling and Psychological Services is hosting a student workshop series this quarter every Thursday from noon to 1 p.m. in PUB 261. This series is designed to help students face every-day issues.

The workshop series will include topics such as break ups, time management, money management, life after college, stress management and much more.

According to Lisa Olson, coordinator of outreach services for Counseling and Psychological Services, the series is designed to help accommodate students with everyday troubles in addition to providing them

fest,� the credit union will also accept donations for the Cheney Food Bank. “I plan on volunteering,� said freshman Alley Peters. “I love being outside and helping people, so why not? I think this is a great way to give back to the community.�

Event sponsors include Edward Jones Investments, Jarms Hardware, Jazzercise Cheney, Cheney Do It Best Hardware, Cheney ABC Preschool, Spokane Regional Solid Waste, Doug Nixon Farmers Insurance, Jackie Olson State Farm Insurance and more.

Depending on the number of participants, volunteers will be split up equally to the different parts of town. The clean up event, put on by the city of Cheney, strives to help make Cheney better and brighter, according to City Senior Planner Brett Lucas. “The goals will be to show strong community support, more so than we had last year. Last year, we had over 100 attendees, so we hope to get over 100 attendees this year [and] a chance to find areas in the community that needs some attention and clean them up,� Lucas said.

Clean-page 5

Photo by Mikayla Napier Attendees of the "Insiring the Future" luncheon enjoy refreshments as they hear from keynote speaker Mark Milliron.

Luncheon presents ideas University strategic planning makes progress on campus innovations

By Trevor Parus staff writer

trevparus@gmail.com

Faculty, staff and students were in attendance at Reese Court for the unveilling of the 2012-2017 strategic plan that has been in the works for nearly a year on Friday, April 13. The plan outlines values, visions and missions of the university for the next five years. The strategic plan goes into effect July 1, 2012.

Keynote speaker Dr. Mark Milliron addressed ways in which other universities were adapting teaching techniques to a modern world. Milliron said that it is apparent that change is needed based on the realities facing this generation. “We’re about to turn out a generation of students who are less educated than the generation that came before.

It makes you take a deep breath and say, ‘We gotta take a deep look at this,’�

Milliron said.

Milliron spoke about merging new and old methods of teaching by integrating the two and taking the best of both worlds. Milliron said that our education system is not preparing or

adapting to a modern world.

In addition, the strategic plan outlines goals for the university and what those key strategies are and how they can be measured. Student success was the first goal outlined in the strategic planning, which includes improving retention rates from 75 percent in 2011 to 82 percent by 2017. The plan also hopes to increase sixyear graduation rates from 46 percent in 2011 to 54 percent in 2017.

Eastern is also striving toward being an institution of innovation by creating a “virtual campus,� which will provide a more flexible learning environment for students. Furthermore, the university is hoping to create a “Center for Alternative Energy� which has yet to be defined. The university also hopes to increase faculty research programs for undergraduate and graduate students to participate in.

Community engagement through staff, students and faculty is one of the key goals of the strategic plan. This goal is intended to increase internships and mentorships through providing an increase in service learning projects for students.

The university has hopes of becoming more visible by raising its reputation as a high-quality university. It hopes to do this by increasing media exposure and plans to “develop an internal and alumni pride campaign.�

Oscar OcaĂąa, ASEWU president, said that the new plan will increase the school’s competitiveness. “The strategic plan is aligning us to finally work collectively. The university is moving to not just the direction from the administration, but actually hearing what is needed to be done for us to improve as a university and become competitive with the state.â€?

Kaleb Hoffer, ASEWU finance vice president, said that it is important for the university to not lose sight of the plan. “Good ideas are always great, but they don’t mean anything without great execution. Five years is a long time, so I hope within the next five years that we don’t forget about this plan and we keep working towards keeping students and faculty involved.� “It’s a lot of hard work, but as long as they don’t forget the principles for this

strategic plan that they are setting up, ‌ it is possible,�

OcaĂąa said “As long as everyone works together and we have the same strategic goal in place then it’s completely possible,â€? Hoffer said.

According to Gary Pratt, chief information officer, the strategic plan is the byproduct of focus groups, which included hundreds of students, and committees, which included faculty, staff and administration. Faculty members were included from the Cheney, Riverpoint and Bellevue campuses. “The idea is that this came from you, so we did hear you. That’s how we got this information,� Pratt said.

Bertha Ortega, Eastern’s Board of Trustees chair of the board, said that although the past few years have not been the best for higher education because of funding cuts, it is important to implement goals for a growing university. “Eastern should be the first choice of students, faculty, the community, business and government when looking for academic excellence and innovation,�

Ortega said.

Three dean of student candidates remain

By Kristie Hsin senior reporter

khhsin@gmail.com

Eastern has narrowed its search for a new dean of students to three final candidates.

The university will bring Linda Pimley Fossen, Amy R. Johnson and Laura A. Bayless to campus for interviews April 23 through May 1.

Vice President for Student Affairs Stacey Morgan Foster, who has been filling in as a temporary dean of students, said, “We had a larger pool than we had the time

before, and I think the candidates this time are representing people who have significant experiences in higher education and in student affairs.�

When selected, candidates are reviewed through human resources.

The search committee reviews a candidate’s rĂŠsumĂŠ and materials. Once candidates are narrowed down, the remaining applicants are interviewed over Skype. “I think our new dean needs to have the students’ best interest as a top priority. I think a lot of

higher positions often do things for their own agendas and it isn’t always good for the students,� senior Amanda Park said.

The search committee consists of: Laurie Connelly, chair of the committee and associate to the president, Stacey Reece, director of student involvement and leadership, Pui-Yan Lam, sociology and justice department chair, Virginia Hinch, director of career services, Michelle Helmerick, dean of students administrative assistant and Oscar Ocana, ASEWU president.

Similar to the previous search

process, candidates will present materials at an open forum on campus where students, faculty and staff can sit in, comment and fill out a score sheet with their comments and recommendations.

All open forums will be held at the campus’s JFK Auditorium from 3 to 4:15 p.m.

Fossen will visit April 23, Johnson on April 26 and Bayless on April 30. “I’ve been to the forums from the last search and it’s really nice that students get to have a say in these sorts of decisions,� senior Hanna Ramsey said. “I often feel

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like there’s a lot students don’t know and aren’t included in ‌ forums like these are a great place for students to express their concerns and comments.�

In addition to working closely with the student government, the dean of student’s position requires work with campus recreation, residential activities, student activities, career services and more.

With the recommendation of Morgan Foster, final decisions are made by President ArĂŠvalo.

When final decisions will be made has not been decided.

In Brief

Spring Gardener’s

SPECIALS

april

Workshopping mental health

Volunteers clean city of Cheney

Photo illustration by Mikayla Napier

page

Baconized  Chili  Mac

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After an arraignment was stricken for reasons other than failing to appear on Jan. 30, no new court appearances have been scheduled for the three students and current or former members of the Sigma Nu fraternity who were booked on charges of drug possession early last quarter.

According to Cheney Police Commander Rick Campbell, the investigation is still ongoing and under review by the Cheney Police detective unit.

The Cheney Police have not recommended any charges to the Spokane County Superior Court’s prosecuting office at this time.

This lack of developments in this case comes after the three students were throwing a party on Normal Parkway in Cheney that was searched by Cheney Police after a search warrant was executed for a reported odor of marijuana.

with the knowledge of the available services. “Our hope is that students realize they are not alone with their struggles and that they take away an increased understanding of their concerns. We also hope they leave the workshop with some tools, strategies and resources to begin the process of making desired changes,� Olson said.

Olson said that while workshops can vary depending on the weather and the time of the school year they average around 15-20 students each week. Olson also said that every week, the series offers something to eat, such as pizza. “Students can become involved by simply coming to the workshops ‌ and sampling what we have to offer. Students

who are new to the series might bring a friend or peer to share the experience. We’ve had whole groups of friends or residents from an entire hall show up in the past. We can always make room for more,�

Olson said.

Olson said that even if students are not interested in the topic of discussion, the topic may be applicable to helping others. “We at CAPS recognize that many students share common concerns, but not all students desire counseling services.

By providing workshops in a central location, we offer opportunities for all students on campus to learn about these topics,� Olson said. “The workshop series also provides us the opportunity

to let students know about our counseling services should they be needed now or in the future,â€? Olson said Kayla McCormick, who is studying biology, said that she found the procrastination workshop to be helpful. McCormick said she finds starting tasks to be hard and that this workshop will help her with procrastinating in the future. “Starting the task is the hardest part, not even the task itself. ‌ This is my first time coming to an event like this, but I look forward to coming to these again,â€? McCormick said.

The workshop series schedule is advertised on the CAPS website and includes the speaker, and the topic.

3

18, 2012 • news

Student Workshop Series Date

Title

Presenters

April 19 April19

Breaking Up is Hard to Do

Karen Wanjico, Violence Prevention Student Advocate, OSRR

April 26

Effective Time Management: Tools for Success

Amy McGreevy Academic Success Center

May 3

Money Management: Tips and Tricks for Catching up, Staying on Track and Getting Ahead.

May 10

Financial Aid: Life After College and Planning for Graduate School

May 17

May 24

Health & Wellness Jeopardy Game: A Fun and Interactive Workshop Discover a Path to Wellness with Yoga: An Informational Workshop

May 31

Relaxation for Stress Management

June 7

The “Stress-Free Zone�

Karin Jewell Student Financial Services Staff Financial Aid and Scholarships Office Staff & Peer Educators HWPS Ryan Kiely CAPS Amanda Dreyer, M.S. CAPS Staff CAPS

Easterner Graphics

Voices against violence heard in campus mall

By Libby Campbell contributing writer

easterner.news@gmail.com

A pack of men tottering around campus in high heels would seem strange on an average day, but on April 10 it was a way for males to demonstrate their empathy toward females. Members of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity invited male students to “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes� during the event Voices Against Violence on the campus mall, April 10. The event, put on by Health, Wellness and Prevention Services, aimed to raise awareness about personal violence. “It’s an event that’s designed to increase the knowledge of students about sexual violence, partner violence and stalking,� said Michelle

Elections: continued from front page

Pelon is campaigning verbally as well as using posters and Facebook. “I feel like I really do have the experience and the passion to be a good legislative affairs representative to get the students organized to make sure that they’re participating with not only their student government, but state government as well to have their voices heard,�

Pelon said.

Two candidates are campaigning for a position that deals with the technological resources that are available to students and letting students know what they have access to.

James Reisenauer is campaigning for the Technology Advancement council position for the ASEWU. He is currently a freshman planning to major in computer science.

Reisenauer has experience serving as the chair of the student technology fee committee at Eastern, along with working as a student technician in high school by fixing computers.

Reisenauer graduated from Hanford High School in Richland, Wash., where one of his teachers convinced him to start a sports broadcast club.

Pingree, director for Health, Wellness and Prevention. “It’s designed to get resources out to victims and to let students know where the resources are.

About 73 percent of our population knows somebody who’s been impacted by sexual violence or personal violence, so this is our way to get that information out.�

Campus organizations and volunteers set up tables that offered information on everything from sexual assault statistics, gender and social issues, victim support, tips on prevention, art therapy and demonstrations.

Phi Beta Sigma fraternity member Xavier Walker said their high heels demonstration was a way for men to better understand what it is like being members of the opposite sex.

“Men can go through what it feels like to be a woman. For men, it hurts to walk in heels, but we’re trying to take it to another level by demonstrating that we do care about women and domestic violence,� Walker said. “Every year, we ‘walk a mile in her shoes’ to show that we care about and support those who have been victims.�

One table used toys and coloring books to show how children are exposed to gender

and social issues. While pointing to soldier action figures and dolls, Erika Miller explained how children are subjected to certain gender norms. “Men are portrayed as very strong, masculine, powerful and aggressive, which kind of encourages boys to want to be that masculine, aggressive figure. Women are portrayed as very feminine and helpless,�

Miller said. “We’re showing how that can perpetuate vio-

“I ended up directing the broadcasts,� Reisenauer said. “We had three cameras wired to the internet with announcers ... We got a lot of viewers.�

Reisenauer has four years of experience with technology combining his work as a student technician and chair of the student technology fee committee. “I hope to ‌ unite some of the committees around campus [like] campus architecture and [the] student technology fee committee,â€? Reisenauer said. “People request certain items from student technology but ‌ [don’t] ask the appropriate committee for [them].â€?

According to Reisenauer, he plans to talk to as many students as he can verbally and through Facebook. “My main goal is to find some way to innovate Eastern,� Reisenauer said.

Steven Casteel is a junior at Eastern who is running for re-election for the Technology Advancement council position.

Casteel is a visual communication design major with a minor in 3D animation. He enjoys playing the red piano on the first floor PUB lounge.

Casteel is co-campaigning with Mason Clark, who is running for the Student Health and Safety Services position.

Casteel founded the East-

ern Atheist club, where he is president. He also has been a camp counselor at 11 different camps. “When I see a leadership opportunity, I ‌ jump for it,â€?

Casteel said. “I try to do stuff out of my comfort zone.�

Casteel was the Technology Advancement representative for the ASEWU this past year. “One of the problems we had at ASEWU was that it takes a long time to get ‌ trained and to know exactly what you’re doing,â€? Casteel said. “If I was re-elected to Technology Advancement, ‌ I could just jump right into it. “I could let students know the services they have available to them,â€? Casteel said. “Students don’t know that they have free anti-virus, ‌ they’re paying for it. Instead of just focusing on the proposals that come from the Tech Fee Committee, I would really want to make it a priority to ‌ advertise the services that students are paying for.â€?

Two candidates are competing for the chair of student services, the position that is one of the most directly involved with students.

Justin Filla is running for re-election as the student services representative for ASEWU. He is a first-year senior who is returning next year

to finish his studies with social work.

Filla has finished his minors in sociology and psychology.

For his campaign, Filla has a poster on the second floor in the PUB, stakes with fliers around campus, fliers at the residential halls and a Facebook page. “A big thing I’ve been working on this year is getting involved with the child care center,� Filla said. “In the past, our representatives have worked with people from the administrators from the child care center, but not directly with them. My goal is to work with them and see what [ASEWU] can do.�

One of the student services projects that Filla was involved with this year was partnering EWU’s Dining Services contract with WSU. According to Filla, another big project he is working on is adding more parking for the new residence hall that is being built.

Filla has served on the student union board of control, the finance committee his sophomore year, a Student Health and Safety Services representative his junior year and as the Student Services Representative this past year. “This is ‌ my third year be-

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“... we're trying to take it to another level by demonstrating that we do care about women and domestic violence.�

Xavier Walker

lence in our culture by encouraging men to be aggressive and women to be very subordinate to men.�

Gender norms and social issues are topics Miller wants to challenge. “We want to call attention to these things that we’re giving children, like toys, that encourage women to just want to be brides and wives and mothers, and men to want to be strong, military men. I think it’s a great cause,� she said.

The organizers behind Voices Against Violence hope to spread even more awareness about a topic that is a widely known problem. “This issue has been known about, been talked about and been worked on for 25, 30, 40 years, and it’s still an issue we have in our society,� Pingree

said. “Predominately, women are victims of violence, and predominately, men cause that violence, though that’s not always the case. We’re trying to look at it from the perspective of this violence can happen in all kinds of places to all kinds of people.�

Pingree referred to the high percentage of people who know someone who has been impacted by personal violence. “Usually, it’s a situation where, with a little information, someone may be able to step in or may be able to prevent it from happening,� she said. “It just takes that moment.

That moment, that decision to make a call, to interrupt, to divert their attention. That’s what we’re trying to promote.�

ing involved with ASEWU,�

Filla said. “I’m just looking forward to hopefully bring my experience and knowledge back for another year and hope to have another good [ASEWU] council like we’ve had this year.�

Kristanie Maleng is running for the Student Services council position. She is a freshman with plans on majoring in special education and elementary education with a minor in business. “I want ‌ to help Eastern as much as possible in any way that I honestly can,â€?

Maleng said. “Whether [it is] bringing my opinion or sitting down with students and hearing what they have to say.�

Maleng graduated from Mt. Baker High School in Deming, Wash., where she worked on her leadership skills as a sophomore class treasurer, the jazz band head

programmer, a marching band council member, an FFA Sentinel, an FBLA secretary and an ASB publishing manager. “I like to be a leader,â€? Maleng said. “It’s a role I tend to take on. ‌ I want the position just because I want not only to grow up for myself, but I really want to make an impact.â€?

According to an email from Maleng, she plans to use posters and business cards to campaign for the primary elections, then get more creative for campaigning for the general election. “I know that I’m a freshman, I know that I don’t have very much experience at Eastern, but I also know that I’m really willing to work and really eager to learn,â€? Maleng said. “I want to be a teacher. ‌ I’m going to be learning for the rest of my life.â€?

page

OPINION

4

opinion

• april 18, 2012

Drug busts at Eastern: do they mean anything?

After a few drug busts, including two in the last month, a question arises: does EWU, and the Cheney community, have a drug problem? Should drug use on campus really be that big of a surprise?

Let's examine the last few incidents.

On January 15, three students were arrested after throwing a party.

Officers arrived after a neighbor complained of hearing a woman screaming outside.

The officers attempted to talk to the occupants of the house, but had the door slammed in their face.

All three were expelled from school.

Then, on April 1, police were called to Pearce Hall where they

"It should come as no big surprise that Eastern is not exempt from drug abuse." found a few hundred dollars and the scent of marijuana.

The students' tuition was nonrefundable.

Finally, on Wednesday, April 11, Patrick Janicke, senior, started slashing tires in the parking lot of the Rock Spring Apartments on Al Ogden Way. His roommate called the police soon thereafter. When the police arrived, his roommates told them that Janicke was a chemistry major and that he had been doing experiments in his room for class. After obtaining a search warrant, police went back and

found a meth lab in his room.

We can guess what will happen to his school career.

In 2007, the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse did a study that involved college students and drug use.

The study found that almost half of all college students use illegal drugs. Another 60 percent said that it would be “very easy” to obtain prescription drugs. Some 77 percent even said that it would be “very or somewhat” easy to get marijuana.

Therefore, it should come as no big surprise that Eastern is not

exempt from drug abuse. Still, it brings into question something bigger: do a few minor drug busts really mean anything?

After the Summit of the Americas, and Obama’s failed attempt to woo any of the countries involved (except Canada), we’re starting to see the War on Drugs for what it’s really worth anyway. Numerous Latin American countries believed that drug use should, at the very least, be decriminalized.

"We cannot eradicate global drug markets, but we can certainly regulate them as we have done with alcohol and tobacco markets," President Otto Perez Molina of Guatamala said. His sentiment closely resembles that of most other countries.

“Personally, and my adminis-

Through the Eagle’s Eye

tration’s position, is that legalization is not the answer,” President Obama stated during the Summit of the Americas.

America’s position on the status of drug legality has only created criminals out of people who need treatment before incarceration.

In the end, many students' lives will be ruined with charges that should otherwise be dealt with in other ways.

Remember: At least we’re not San Diego State University. Back in 2008, 96 people were arrested, 75 of them were students, after a six month long operation.

All of their tuition was nonrefundable. All of their lives were ruined.

And we thought Eastern was bad.

Interviews by Derek Brown, photos by Aaron Malmoe

"Do you think Eastern has a problem with drugs?"

COMMUNITY

page april

18, 2012 • community

How to polish your networking sites

By Libby Campbell contributing writer

easterner.eaglelife@gmail.com

Not even one week on the job and Hayden Indahl heard the words that make any employee’s stomach drop.

“Hayden, come into my office, please.”

Indahl, who was a new hire at the Residential Life program at Eastern Washington University, was about to experience the repercussions of having his online life collide with his professional life.

“A friend had commented on one of my Facebook statuses and used the word ‘gay,’” Indahl said. “I think he said something like, ‘Your school is so gay.’ My supervisor called me into her office and told me to immediately take it down. I mean, my friend said it, it wasn’t even me.”

Though Indahl only received a light slap on the wrist, his experience is becoming more and more common. As college seniors prepare to graduate and begin their job searches, they should know that it is not only their résumés that need polishing— they might want to consider refining their social networking accounts, too.

Employers are beginning to delve into their employees’

and potential hires’ online social networking sites. They check sites like Facebook and Twitter to keep tabs on current employees, and as a means of a background check for potential employees.

As many as 70 percent of employers look up the social networking sites of prospective employees, according to Krista Benson, program coordinator of the College of Arts, Letters & Education at Eastern. “Assume that the people you want to work for are looking at you online,” she said.

Benson, who has studied social media trends, says the most important thing to remember is that nothing you do online is ever really private.

“Just like how having a loud conversation about your boss in a bar is in public, so is talking about the same thing on Facebook. … Anything that happens on the internet can be screenshot and it exists forever. Even if you delete it, what if somebody took a screenshot of it? It only takes two keystrokes to take a screenshot of something,” she said.

Making your social networking profile more appealing to prospective employers is simple: Think about what you are posting.

“When you are in your early twenties, probably a

lot of pictures of you have a glass or a bottle of something in your hand,” Benson said.

“You might want to look at your profile and think, ‘Do I need all of those pictures?’”

“The photos of you in your bikini, you can untag those.

Those can go on your hard drive. The pictures of dudes in their swimming suits, drunk with their friends on some Caribbean cruise—that can probably be something that you don’t have public anymore,” Benson said.

Leaving behind the party persona many college students acquire is essential for those who want to be taken seriously as professionals, no matter the career field.

“A genuine concern for new professionals,” Benson said, “is, ‘Can you let go of being a student and partying on Thirsty Thursdays? And can you start being the person who shows up to work at 8 o’clock on Friday?’”

Photos are not the only content that needs to be monitored. What students post as status updates and how you go about posting it should not be anything you would be embarrassed for a future boss to see.

Improper spelling, grammar, punctuation and vulgar or offensive language are obvious red flags to prospective

employers.

Generation Y is accustomed to using shorthand and abbreviations in texts and online. Now is a good time to stop replacing words with numbers and to start spelling words out. Those who continue to be lax with grammar and spelling could be targeting themselves.

“I’m going to look at that person and think, ‘I’m a little concerned that you’re going to throw that into an email somewhere,” Benson said. “So much professional communication is written in emails now and a lot of students write emails like that. Look at your profile and ask, ‘Who do I look like to a stranger?’”

There is no need to completely eliminate all personal aspects of your Facebook account, however. The key is finding the right balance between personal and professional. “To some degree, it’s just cleaning up your online profile, but more so it’s being comfortable with melding who you are professionally with who you are personally,” Benson said.

“Talk about your accomplishments. Your friends actually want to hear about them,” she said. “Think about the ways you can be positioning yourself to be part of who you are as a student and as

a professional. And not anything fake, things you really want people to know.”

Consider occasionally sharing informational links that reflect your interests.

Benson mentioned a friend who is interested in graphic design and social justice. He shares links to news stories regarding those topics. “A prospective employer could look at that and really get a feel for the kind of graphic designer he is, and it’s not fake,” she said.

Facebook allows users to control their profile’s privacy settings, but setting your account to private does not necessarily mean you are in the clear.

“There used to be really easy loopholes, especially with Myspace, but they’ve closed a lot of them. However, the easiest loophole, if you have your profile set to private, is if [prospective employers] know somebody that knows you,” Benson said.

They can ask that person if there is anything on your profile to be concerned about, or might even ask to look through it.

“It’s not an invasion of your privacy. It’s all public, even if you’ve got it locked to only friends. … It’s really easy for anybody to gain access [to your profile].”

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By Desireé Hood

According to Lucas, the city is in the process of compiling the list of locations around Cheney that require attention and work.

For the first three years, Cheney Clean Sweep was managed by the police department. This will be the second year in a row that the event is hosted by the Community Development Department. The depart-

staff writer

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Kendra Powers

Daryn Walter

Matt Mahar

Victoria DeLeon

Katelyn Johnston

Skyler Oberst, a graduating senior, has made the most of his college experience. From starting the Compassionate Interfaith Society on campus to speaking to top White House aids in the dining room of the White House, he has accomplished many things in the past few years.

His other achievements in the past three years include serving as Youth Scholar with the North American Interfaith Network, attending the Interfaith Youth Core’s Leadership Institute and interning with the Pluralism Project at Harvard University.

He is graduating in June with a double major in philosophy and anthropology -- much different from his goals when he started at Eastern.

Oberst came to college seeking a degree in government with the lifelong career goal to be a district attorney.

But after taking a philosophy of religion class his freshman year, he had what he called a “weird change of heart.”

“I got interested in religion and the parallels between religions,” said Oberst. “And around that time, I witnessed in the community some hate crimes where there was some religious discrimination happening right in front of me and I thought, ‘I need to do something about this.’”

Disagreement is not disrespect

Green Dot Spot

By Christopher Stuck

contributor

managing editor

easterner.me@gmail.com

You are an individual.

You are not identical to any other person on the planet.

But you are similar. You are a part of people. You are part of your culture. You are part of your group. And therefore, though you are an individual, you do not exist in a vacuum.

When you act, you act not just as yourself, but Stuck as a representative of your groups.

When you do something mean or stupid or embarrassing, it does not reflect solely on you. It reflects on everyone with whom you ally yourself. I tell you this due to several incidents I have recently witnessed on campus.

I do not know who she was, but she moved several bulletins and flyers to cover up a poster. I do not know who he was, but he tore down a similar poster, crumpling it with disgust and dropping it on the floor.

I do not know who they were, but they crumpled and literally spat upon an identical poster and left it on the ground in a bus stop. It is hard to conceive that these incidents were coincidence, being that these people targeted these posters very specifically while leaving others unmolested.

In this case, the disrespect shown these posters is personal for me. These were posters for the Eastern Atheists, an on-campus organization for non-believers and skeptics. I am not a part of Eastern Atheists, but I am atheist. I am atheist in the “I have no belief in higher powers” meaning of the word and not the “there is absolutely no god” definition.

To me, and to many who identify as atheist or agnostic, the claim that there is no god is just as specious as the claim that there is. My nonbelief is based upon knowing that the existence or non-existence of any higher power is not demonstrable and has no bearing on my daily life. It is a lack of belief in god, not a belief in the lack of god.

My lack of faith is not because I am unhappy. I am happy. It is not because god

“let me down.” I am not bitter, I am not angry, I am not hiding, fighting or spiting. I simply lack belief.

I include my personal views not just as a responsible revelation of what could be seen as bias in this situation, but also because “atheist” doesn’t denote just one thing.

Atheists, agnostics, secularists and humanists are a variety of people from a variety of backgrounds.

Like most people, non-believers find comfort, fun or camaraderie in interacting with like-minded people.

It is highly likely that you have the same impulse, no matter your beliefs or nonbeliefs.

According to Eastern Atheists President Steven Casteel on the group’s Facebook page, their “focus is more about building a community of like minded friends than anything else. Our other focus is on destigmatizing the word atheist, and engaging in dialogue with our peers on the topic of theism through events like ‘Ask an Atheist’ tabling.”

That this an organization for non-believers is irrelevant to its validity, ir-

relevant to its right to post the posters and irrelevant to its expectation to have those posters remain unmolested by those with alternate opinions.

However personal these specific incidents were for me, I would have been equally outraged if I had witnessed the same events happening to flyers belonging to Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship or Berean Bible Study or any other group.

You should be, too.

You should be outraged at the disrespect shown to other people, even if you disagree with or even dislike them. Remember that you may act as an individual, but your actions reflect upon your group.

When you do something mean, stupid, embarrassing or disrespectful, you do it on behalf of everyone you care about. Ultimately, disrespect for other people is disrespect for yourself.

With that in mind, my advice is this: Treat your own actions as if you are representative of everyone you know, but treat the actions of others as acts of that specific individual.

When you respect others, you respect yourself.

Write us about things you like, things you hate, somebody should do something to change what’s going on. Politics, news, sports, opinion, it’s all open for discussion here. Whether it’s about the teacher who is giving you a bad time or the teacher who has a bad rap that deserves better, it goes here. What’s happening in the news? What’s going on nationally? What do you think about your world today? We want to hear from you. What did you hear? What did you see? Send us your thoughts. Send us your pictures. We want to hear from you because it’s your campus, your voice, your news. Somebody should write in about that horrible thing, but no one might, so pick up the phone and call us and Write us about things you like, things you hate, somebody should do something to change what’s going on. Politics, news, sports, opinion, it’s all open for discussion here. Whether it’s about the teacher who is giving you a bad time or the teacher

Write us

By Jessica Willis jwillis6@ewu.edu

Throughout my life, since my undergraduate education, I have been actively involved in violence prevention.

My entry into this work started when I did a collegecredit internship as a crisis counselor.

Work in this area has generally been experienced by me as both challenging and rewarding.

I first formally learned about the Green Dot program when I joined the EWU campus community.

I am absolutely excited to be a member of the Green Dot team at EWU. The Green Dot program is based on some very simple and inspiring ideas.

Green Dot is an approach to the reduction of power-based violence that recognizes every individual as having an integral role to play in making their surrounding community a safer place to live.

Every individual is a significant contributor to shaping the social environment, and each of us can fairly easily tap into our skills and abilities to be active as by-

standers in reducing or even preventing violent situations before they actually occur.

When I got trained as a Green Dot advocate I came to a realization about how every individual significantly impacts the level of violent acts that happen in our communities.

Simply by doing a green dot, every one of us can decide to take action and, as a result, minimize the likelihood that harm will happen to anyone in our immediate environment.

My green dot this week was encouraging a friend that we should walk together to our parked cars.

The hour was late, the moon was out and the parking lot was largely deserted.

While taking action can sometimes feel scary, the Green Dot program gives me daily opportunities to develop skills and confidence in order to face fears that might otherwise lead to inaction.

As part of the Green Dot team, I know I am part of a larger community effort to stop violence before it happens.

This world is ours to share and create; be a part of the solution. Join us.

He co-founded the Compassionate Interfaith Society on campus, forming an organization that can give out respectful information about the different religions, traditions and cultures in the community.

“It’s completely organic,” Oberst said. “It’s just Eastern students who got together and [were] like, ‘You know what? We need to be a little bit more nice to one another’ and that you can’t really section off groups regardless of their religion or what they believe.”

In the past, Oberst and the CIS have organized speakers coming in. The Dalai Lama’s peace emissary, the indigenous Masai Warriors from Kenya and a holocaust survivor are just a few who have visited Eastern.

“What’s interesting is, every single one of them hits on the same thing, which is compassion,” said Oberst.

“Everybody wants to be nice to one another. Everybody at least has been told to be nice to one another and it would be really great if we could start listening to that.”

The club volunteers on campus and in the community.

They have scrubbed graffiti off the local Mosques and gardened for the Buddhist Abbey.

They also installed a “peace pole” in the campus mall.

“Pretty much anything that has this flavor of helping out people and being nice to one another, we are probably in-

Puzzle from words found in this week's issue.

4. _ _ _ _ Stephens performed a rendition of Lois Lowry's "The Giver" on April 14.

13. Both Mitchell and Johnson said that they would consider _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Football League.

Derek Brown

easterner.opinion@gmail.com

Address: The Easterner, room 102 EWU, Isle Hall Cheney, WA 99004 Requirements: -Letter should be 300 words or less, and typed or hand-written legibly.

-Include your full name, signature,

9. Keynote speaker for strategic plan luncheon 10. Bo Levi Mitchell lives in _ _ _ _ _ _ _.

14. _ _ _ _ _ _ Against Violence Down 1. Get Lit! _ _ _ _ _ _ and Pie. 3. President of ASEWU 6. "An Odyssey of Love and Adventure: Crossing the Heart of _ _ _ _ _" by Julian Smith

Reed: continued from front page

Reed’s College Civic Tour began in 2006 and is funded by the Help America Vote Act, a United States federal law adopted in 2002 to promote voter education.

This year’s tour theme is “I Will Vote.”

Reed earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science from Washington State University.

He was elected Washington’s Secretary of State

ment consists of the Cheney Planning Department, Code and Enforcement Department and the Building Department.

“It’s a chance for a community of our size to do this and support community events, as well as show our connection with the school district, university and other civic community organizations,” said Lucas. “We can all pull together and make Cheney a better place to live and work.” in 2000 and re-elected in 2004.

As the 14th Secretary of State, Reed plans to retire when his term ends Jan. 9, 2013.

“I’ve been doing it for seven years and each one is a little different. Students actually change — they change over these seven years. I’ve enjoyed it and I find it very refreshing and learn a lot,” Reed said after the event. “I just hope that they’re a little more fired up about it all, feel more connected and are going to be ready and willing to work on this.”

What do you think?

Tweet us at @EasternerOnline

It’s not too early to start making plans on housing for next year. We offer very competative rental rates, including free rent, discounts on monthly rent and Summer rental rates between $125 and $175 per month.

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

religions without the “stigma” that comes with it.

“Everybody has a different perspective and I like to work different people’s perspectives into my own,” said Shryock.

“It’s an interesting way to get new information.”

Michael Lubina, a member of CIS, started attending the meetings because a friend asked him, but found that the atmosphere was enjoyable and has continued going to the meetings.

“You hear things that you yourself can’t think of. … The stuff they do at CIS meetings is refreshingly kind,” said Lubina. “The age old saying, ‘Walk a mile in another person’s shoes’ has a completely different meaning now.”

Three years after the journey started, Oberst has handed the reins off to a new president and is a “proud papa.” He enjoys seeing the organization survive without as much of his involvement.

“All of the things that I have really gone through and the recognition that I have got, I mean it’s great, but I am more interested in making sure that the CIS is here to stay,” said Oberst. “That it is an integral part of the university and it continues to be a beacon of compassion in the campus community.”

continued from page 2

from being college students to professionals are part of the generation who has had a visible online life for years.

“That can hurt your job search if you’re not aware of it, but it can actually help it if you are aware of it. There are hiring managers who will add you on Facebook before your interview. I’ve had it happen.”

Benson recalled another time when a colleague added her on Facebook shortly after she was hired. They began communicating via social media.

“We started communicating pretty quickly, and have since become friends, which helped me in my professional life because this person was an administrator. … I had no reason at my job level to have direct access to an administrator, except I did [because of Facebook.]”

Transitioning from a college student to a young professional is scary and exciting, but necessary. Professionalizing your social networking sites is just another step in making the transition as smooth as possible.

As far as finding the balance between personal and professional, Benson offered one last piece of advice. “Be yourself, but think less about who I was at 18, or 19 or 20, and focus more on who am I becoming.”

Clean, quiet & friendly and same on-site staff for 23 years

Across

5. Associate head women's coach Hedberg

telephone number and email address for verification.

-We reserve the right not to publish letters; furthermore, all letters are subject to editing.

-Letters must be received no later than Monday at 10 a.m. in order to be considered for publication the following Wednesday.

-If your letter is in response to a specific article, please list the title. and date of the article.

volved in some way,” Oberst said.

Westboro Baptist Church made a visit to Eastern two years ago, and CIS taught classes on how to have “a non-violent demonstration for peace” from lessons by Gandhi, Martin Luther King and the Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu.

Two days after the protest, Oberst flew to Georgetown to attend a leadership conference and the first slide was about Westboro. When asked what the members of the conference would do if Westboro came to their campuses, Oberst took the opportunity to discuss the actions that EWU and the CIS took 48 hours before.

This caught the eyes of some prominent people at the conference. Oberst was asked to speak at the White House about student activism in the interfaith movement on college campuses. Talking to top aids to the president in the east dining room in October 2010 is a memory that Oberst will have forever.

CIS currently has 16 different religions in attendance.

Their meetings include lively discussions from talking about the zombie apocalypse to the furry creatures of the Muppets. There is only one rule when people walk through the door: No “soul saving” will be allowed. The meetings are a forum of people in a “safe zone” according to Oberst.

Phillip Shryock, a member of the club, enjoys experiencing

EWu crossword

We encourage the campus community to submit letters and opinion pieces that conform to the requirements listed below. Opinion articles and letters to the editor do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of The Easterner, its staff members or Eastern Washington University.

opinion editor

5

7. Bing Crosby readers on April 13: _ _ _ _ _ _ White and Jess Walter 8. HooPalousa teams: Spokane Dirty Realists and Whitworth _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 11. Location of 2009 track team bus accident 12. Kyle _ _ _ _ holds the 10,000-meter school record.

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eagle life

EA GLE LIFE

EAGLE LIFE

6 • april 18, 2012

Almond and Orlean discuss pie, people and whiskey

Get Lit! Festival awes and inspires

page april

By Nicole Livingston nicolejanelivingston@gmail. com

Authors Susan Orlean and Steve Almond shared excerpts from their books, answered questions and made audience members chuckle at their personal anecdotes on April 12 at the Bing Crosby Theatre as part of the Get Lit! Festival.

Steve Almond was introduced by Verne Windham, program director and classical host of Spokane Public Radio, with a forewarning.

“Now, be careful if you hang out with Steve Almond because you might find yourself in one of his stories,” said Windham.

Almond opened with some playful banter relating to Susan Orlean.

“Every time there is a new Susan Orlean book, I have the exact same reaction, I’m like, ‘I don’t care about orchids.

I don’t care about botany. I don’t even know what an orchid looks like. I don’t. Susan, don’t. Oh my God, orchids are fascinating!’”

He immediately drew the audience in with his low, inviting voice and quick-witted humor as he shared an excerpt from his collection of short stories, “God Bless America.”

The excerpt was from a story called, “Donkey Greedy, Donkey Gets Punched.”

The story follows a man that goes to see a psychologist at the advice of his wife and the reactions that he and

the psychologist have to each other.

Other pieces that Almond shared were from a small book of a collection of hate letters he had received entitled, “Letters From People Who Hate Me,” and a more somber piece about Hitler and World War II from his book, “This Will Only Take But A Moment, Honey.”

Almond left the podium to be replaced by Nancy Roth as she introduced Susan Orlean.

Orlean walked up from the audience with a warm and friendly approach, gesticulating and laughing along with the audience as she made jokes about the pie and whiskey event that followed.

“I have to say I’m happy to come back any time due to the fact that there is a nip bottle of whiskey in the author bag.

A first in my many, many experiences at literary festivals, so you people know how to do it right,” said Orlean.

Orlean claimed that she had never expected to write about Rin Tin Tin. “This is the story of my writing career. You could say, ‘I never expected to write about blank,’ and that would be pretty much every single thing I’ve ever written about.”

She shared excerpts from her newest book, “Rin Tin Tin: The Life and The Legend.”

In her first excerpt, she painted pictures of World War I grave sites and how surreal it felt that she was standing in a place where historical events happened,

and that it did not feel any more real to know so.

Her second excerpt was about her taking a puppy on a flight.

She had taken it to deliver to a family that had bought the puppy from a friend of hers.

She wanted to keep the puppy by the end of the flight and cried when she had to give it to the eagerly awaiting family.

The evening concluded with a question and answer session with Almond and Orlean.

They answered questions regarding their own works and about writing in general.

Students, faculty and area residents were in attendance for a number of reasons.

“I’ve been a fan of Susan Orlean for a long time. She’s one of the authors who’s on my thesis list for my graduate thesis here at Eastern and I was looking forward to the opportunity to hear her read from her new book which I haven’t gotten the chance to read yet,” said Summer Hess, a graduate student in the creative writing program at EWU. “I heard about it from a friend and we both write," said Rose Saunders, an attendee. "I was very interested in hearing more about it.

"It’s always great to hear directly from the people who produce things, to get a little bit of an idea of the creative process … because they’re both so different, every writer is different. It’s good to see the different ways people approach things."

By Kelly Manalo

What was your favorite moment from this year's Get Lit! Festival? Send us an email at easterner.eaglelife@gmail.com.

manalo.kelly@gmail.com

EWU student takes first place in college poetry slam

By Christopher Stuck and Rei Inoue for the easterner

easterner.me@gmail.com

“And the first poet [scores]: A cube, a starfish, a potato and what is that?

Is that a rhombus?” College Poetry Slam host Mark Anderson said after the “sacrificial” poet, Isaac Grambo, performed.

The judge informed Anderson that the rhombus was, in fact, a trapezoid. After his scores were tabulated

by Kristina McDonald, assistant coordinator for Get Lit! and scorekeeper for the slam, Grambo’s final combined score was Mythical Creature.

The poetry slam, hosted

by EWU’s “Writers in the Community” program as part of Get Lit!, was held at the Kress Gallery at River Park Square, April 13 at 8:30 p.m.

Nine college-aged poets from the area performed, being judged on originality, content and performance by five judges. Scores ranged from 0.0 to 10.0.

The highest and lowest scores were dropped and the middle three were combined to get each poet’s score for each round.

Grambo received surrealist mock scores because of his role as the non-competing “sacrificial” poet, meant

Between suicides written on grains of rice and a rabbit's foot-horseshoe.

I wasn't going to tell you that I loved you. But sometimes a goodbye that you never want to end is like courage you can sing to.

Excerpt from “Baby Peas” by Kurt Olson to engage the audience and make it more receptive for the competing poets. The odd scores were meant to set

a fun tone for the evening.

“It’s a bit of a sham,” Anderson said. “Poetry slam is necessarily a game to make

poetry more fun. The scores are more for the audience’s benefit than the poets’. It’s all about bringing energy around the poet.”

The contest was broken up into two rounds.

The poets performed in random order in the first round and were ordered based on first round scores from highest to lowest in the second round.

The Easterner’s own Kurt Olson won the first round with the highest-scoring poem of the night, “Baby Peas,” earning him a 28.4.

Olson tied for first place in the second round, giving him the overall win with a combined score of 56.3 out

of a possible 60. Second place went to Whitworth student Danielle Estelle with an overall score of 55.7 and third went to Tim Johnson of Loon Lake, Wash., with 55.1.

Olson was slated to open for former Poet Laureate Ted Kooser at a performance at The Lincoln Center on April 15, but Kooser did not attend after extreme weather forced the cancellation of his flight from Nebraska to Spokane.

Instead, Olson opened for Gabrielle Calvocoressi, Russell Thorburn, Thomas Brush and EWU professor Christopher Howell. Estelle and Johnson won gift certificates.

Walter, Whitehead use humor to Pulitzer Prize winner talks inform and entertain festivalgoers about the Great Migration

By Davis Hill and Katie Simpson for the easterner

easterner.eaglelife@gmail.com

The Bing Crosby Theater was alive Friday night, April 13, with laughter and applause for two visiting writers speaking as part of the 2012 Get Lit! Series.

Colson Whitehead and Jess Walter have both published multiple books and are both nationally acclaimed, award-winning authors.

Walter has published five novels and one nonfiction book and is a former National Book Award finalist.

A winner of the Edgar Allen Poe Award, he has been published in “Playboy,” “McSweeney’s,” “ESPN magazine,” “Newsweek” and others.

Whitehead has published five novels, one of which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and has received a MacArthur Fellowship and a Whiting Writers Award. His work has appeared in such publications as “The New York Times,” “The New Yorker,” “Grata” and “Harper’s.”

Walter took the podium first. He spoke about writing

and also read from one of his short stories. It follows Cole Griffith, a middle-aged divorcé whose heart problems and existential crises threaten his career as a C-league basketball player.

Whitehead opened with a synopsis of his childhood and how he came to be a professional writer.

Afterwards, he read from one of his works in progress, a mock writing guide that includes tips such as “Keep the good stuff off the page,” and “Write [only] what you know.”

Both writers used incisive humor to capture the audience. Walter’s evocative language and entertaining reading style drew many laughs.

As Whitehead took the podium, he slowly cleared his throat and began to speak in a dry monotone. “I usually spend Friday nights in my apartment weeping over my regrets,” he said, “so this is a nice change.”

During the question and answer session, the writers gave advice on fleshing out characters, literary pacing and beginning to write and the appeal of the zombie apocalypse narrative.

When an audience member asked about supporting oneself as a writer, Walter cocked his head, raised an eyebrow and said, “Supporting yourself?” The audience roared with laughter.

Walter and Whitehead also spoke seriously about contemporary issues.

In response to a question about the viability of the print format, Walter explained the changing nature of the industry.

“Story dissemination is changing,” he said. “How we [create narratives] may change, but everyone wants stories. … Desire for written art won’t dissipate.”

Asked about his zombie apocalypse novel “Zone One,” Whitehead explained post-apocalyptic themes.

“The undead … are just part of a larger post-apocalyptic obsession,” he said.

“We live in a phony apocalyptic time due to the news, … you see [horrible things on the] news, and think … ‘the world is falling apart.’”

At the end of the session, Walter and Whitehead retreated to the lobby to sign books and speak with admirers.

By Kelly Manalo contributing writer

manalo.kelly@gmail.com

As a daughter of parents who migrated from the south, Isabel Wilkerson calls herself a southerner once removed.

Her book, “The Warmth of Other Suns,” is about the migration of six million African-Americans from the south between 1915-1970.

Wilkerson interviewed 1,200 migrators of the Great Migration by visiting churches and social groups all over the country to hear their stories.

She quoted William Faulkner, “The past is not dead, it’s not even past,” and then continued to recount the stories of the people she interviewed.

According to Wilkerson, the people in the south lived in a caste system that was set in place for economic, aggregation, cheap labor and harvest reasons.

African-Americans were held captive and lived in a tightly-bound world.

“It seems so archaic to the way it is today. What would you have done, had you en-

dured it?” asked Wilkerson.

In an old newspaper clipping in Raleigh, N.C., Wilkerson found an article that announced a suspension of a trial due to the fact that the black Bible could not be found.

“Even the word of God was segregated. There was a black and a white Bible for the courtroom,” said Wilkerson.

Wilkerson explained to the audience that it was so dangerous to leave that people did not say they were leaving until they were gone.

“In 1960s when the Civil Rights Movement was in full swing, it got harder for people to leave. The south didn’t take kindly to people leaving,” said Wilkerson.

“Before the migration, 90 percent of all African-Americans lived in the south, now half of all African-Americans are dispersed throughout the country,” said Wilkerson.

“Gifts to the world was made possible by the singular decision of the parents who migrated to find something better for their children.

"For the first time, the lowest caste of people recognized they had the right

to choose what they could do for a living," said Wilkerson.

"This was a new idea and revolutionary concept. Instead of working in fields, people could become accountants, professionals, musicians or whatever they wanted to be,” said Wilkerson.

“In the past, blacks could not rent a library book. It was illegal. Toni Morrison, a Nobel prize winner, did not have access to a book.”

This was Wilkerson’s way of trying to help the audience envision what it would be like without Morrison’s literary contributions, without the Jackson 5 and Motown music.

She explained that migrators' children’s talents have helped shaped American culture.

Chris Aumack, an attendee of the talk, said, “I like hearing diverse voices that you don’t always hear in Spokane.”

She said she was in disbelief that this talented writer only had an audience of 35 people.

“She’s inspired me. Now I want to write and explore my own [family] history.”

Easterner Graphics

18, 2011 • eagle life

Smith teaches the art of travel writing while sharing his own experiences contributing writer

staff writer

7

Julian Smith, author of “An Odyssey of Love and Adventure: Crossing the Heart of Africa,” taught a workshop on how to be a good travel writer and get paid to do so. His book discusses his travels across Africa before marrying his girlfriend of seven years.

Participants analyzed travel writing, discussed what worked or did not and listened to Smith’s expertise on the matter. According to Smith, the biggest challenge is writing in a way that has never been done before. He stressed the importance of avoiding clichés, using the same approach [again and again] and word choice. “Write about the unusual and absurd.

Hopefully, it will come across to your readers,” said Smith.

Smith advised writers to

write down everything in their travels and to employ all the senses in writing: smell, sound, taste and sights. He also suggested writers have a purpose and ask themselves: why should the readers care? Why should an editor invest their time in me?

In the second hour, Smith gave tips on how to get published and get money for writing. His advice was to meet editors and publishers in person, join journalist associations and promote yourself on the internet. Attendees had a chance to ask questions throughout the workshop. Some of the questions were regarding how to get article assignments for online and print publications.

“It’s nice to hear other people get ideas for writing and hear another perspective on the business,” said David Williams after attending Smith’s travel writing workshop.

As a non-fiction writer himself, he currently has a fly-fishing blog on the Seattle Post Intelligencer, an online newspaper. Williams traveled to Spokane from Bellevue with his wife, a fiction writer, to attend the festival.

In the future, he mentioned he would also like to teach at the writer’s festival.

“The biggest selling point of attending the workshops is that you get one-on-one contact with authors, giving you a better opportunity to talk with them,” said Karen Maner, a non-fiction Master of Fine Arts graduate student. Karen Maner has been interning as a staff writer for the Get Lit! Festival since fall quarter and has had the opportunity to interact with many authors whose books she has read.

Smith’s next travel assignment is a trip to Argentina.

Lowry, American Place Theater company bring "The Giver" to life

By Jane Martin staff writer

janeun1t@gmail.com

The 14th annual Get Lit! Festival brought two-time Newbery Medal winner Lois Lowry to the Bing Crosby Theater on April 14 for a thoughtful look at her work and a production of “The Giver” from the American Place Theater’s “Literature to Life” program.

The lively audience, still laughing after an introduction from author Chris Crutcher, welcomed Lowry to the stage with an uproar of applause.

After speaking briefly about her work over the years, Lowry read aloud from her latest book, “Son,” which is the fourth installment in “The Giver” series.

According to Lowry, this was the first time she had ever read her book in front of an audience.

The excerpts she selected gave the audience enough of the story to connect with the characters and understand

their predicaments without spoiling the ending for her readers.

After a brief intermission, Lowry took a seat in the front row while young audience members were encouraged to describe attributes of a utopian society and to come up with ideas for how such a society could become a reality.

Many children jumped at the opportunity to take the microphone and offer their thoughts on the subject before the performance of “The Giver” began.

The lights went down and Mara Stephens strode out onto the stage in a plain grey, highbuttoned uniform. Before a word was spoken, her manner and appearance brought the audience directly into a future in which “sameness” was all there was.

Stephens played every character in the story and transitioned seamlessly from one to another without pause.

By changing her voice and posture for each character,

Stephens was able to communicate the individual personality of each one. No props were used, with the exception of a single chair in the center of the empty stage.

While the story was abridged in order to be performed in the space of an hour, the dialogue used was taken verbatim from the book.

After a standing ovation for Stephens, Lowry took a seat beside her on the stage for a Qand-A session.

A young audience member asked Lowry how she came up with her characters.

“My characters just appear in my imagination. ...

Incidentally, they often name themselves and I rarely change those names,” said Lowry.

When Stephens was asked how long it took her to memorize all the parts for the performance, she said, “I would say two weeks to have the whole book memorized word for word. It was not hard to memorize because I connected with it so much.”

Writers use pie and whiskey for inspiration

By Al Stover sports editor

easterner.sports@gmail.com

“First of all, what kind of crazy people think of giving away whiskey and pie?”

That was the question asked by poet Elizabeth Austen before she read in front of nearly 300 people in the lobby of the Woman’s Club of Spokane.

Austen was one of 12 authors who read at the Pie and Whiskey Reading presented by the Get Lit! Festival, April 12. The whiskey was provided by local distilleries, like the Dry Fly distillery, while the pies were homemade.

Prior to the event, the authors were given two prompts: one involving pie and the other involving whiskey.

Rachelle Henning was one of hundreds in attendance at the reading. A student at Spokane Falls Community College, Henning came to the event to earn extra credit for her English class.

“The homemade pie is definitely a benefit,” Henning said.

Austen used the pie prompt for her untitled poem.

She began her poem with an epigraph from the Chinese proverb, “The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right names,” and used

the last line from Li-Young Lee’s poem, “Self Help for Refugees.”

Other authors who read at the event included Jess Walter, Sam Ligon and Kate Lebo.

Lebo, a graduate student from the University of Washington who baked some of the pies, wrote a recipe for making pie crust.

The whiskey and pie had nearly run out by the time the reading started.

Lebo was surprised at how many people came to the reading.

“I was just saying to Jess [Walter] that some people can’t get this many people at their wedding,” Lebo said.

Local authors switch pens and papers for jerseys and sneakers

By Al Stover and Terry Simpson for the easterner

easterner.eaglelife@gmail.com

Fans filled the seats of Whitworth’s fieldhouse as the 2012 Get Lit! Festival featured the second HooPalousa basketball game where the Whitworth Wordsmiths defeated the Spokane Dirty Realists 101-96.

The Dirty Realists were comprised of local authors such as Jess Walter and Chris Crutcher, as well as former Gonzaga basketball players Casey Calvary and David Pendergraft.

The Wordsmiths were comprised of Whitworth staff and basketball players.

In addition to giving fans the chance to watch local writers compete alongside the basketball players, the

event also benefitted the University of Idaho’s American Indian Graduate Fellowship in Creative Writing.

In the previous HooPalousa, the Dirty Realists defeated the Wordsmiths.

According to Get Lit! Programs Coordinator Melissa Huggins, the game was previously played in Moscow, Idaho.

“Jess Walter decided to organize a second game as a part of Get Lit!,” Huggins said. “It’s always fun to see these guys get into it and give each other a hard time.”

Miranda Tubbs, an English major who assisted with the festival, scored four points with one steal.

She got involved after being asked by Huggins to play.

“She knew I coached and played a little,” Tubbs said.

For Tubbs, it was very intimidating playing with the authors and the athletes.

“I’ve never felt so small in my life, but it was cool,” Tubbs said. “I’ll be back next year if they will have me.”

Walter improved his score to six points for this year’s HooPalousa, as opposed to the five he scored in the previous game.

Although his team did not win, Walter enjoyed the competitiveness of the game as he enjoys the idea that literature can be about all kinds of things.

“You can make it about basketball or about pie and whiskey,” Walter said. “Get Lit! is more than just a book festival, it’s a community festival. Events like this, benefitting the Native American creative writing fellowship, just really show that.”

page

COMMUNITY

8

community• april

18, 2012

Police Beat

SPORTS Upcoming EWU Sports April 18 EWU Track and Field in Mt. Sac Relays at Walnut, Calif. at 10 a.m.

To the left is a person of interest in a theft case.

If you can identify the person or have any information, please contact the Eastern Washington University police department at 509-359-9233.

April 19 EWU Track and Field in Mt. Sac Relays at Walnut, Calif. at 10 a.m.

April 20 Illustration by Allen Duffy An unknown person drove over a dirt ramp and launched a car into the bushes next to the Red Barn

April 10th Theft A report was made about missing wrestling equipment.

A non-EWU student borrowed the equipment from a club and did not return it.

12:00 a.m.

Vandalism The front doors of Showalter Hall and the pillars in front of Senior Hall were tagged sometime during the night. More than one

person was possibly involved, but the tags were not gang related. The incident is under investigation.

April 11th Agency Assist EWU police assisted the Cheney police department with a call regarding a man running with a knife and slashing tires in the parking lot near Rock Springs apartment complex. The suspect was apprehended near the Safeway parking lot.

April 12th 11:00 a.m.

Fraud In Kingston Hall a student reported a money scam that was attempting to take advantage of EWU students. The scam involved a fake offer for tutoring services. The suspect is unknown at this time.

11:38 a.m.

Theft A backpack was stolen from the storage area at the EWU

bookstore. The suspect took a backpack and then returned it after taking three textbooks from it. The incident is under investigation.

April 14th

April 15th

1:20 a.m.

DUI

3:13 a.m.

Agency Assist

April 13th

EWU officers arrested a non student for drunken driving.

7:30 p.m.

Collision

11:50 p.m.

Minor in Possession

A white pick-up and an EWU street sweeper got into a collision in lot 12.

The driver of the truck had minor injuries.

A highly intoxicated male was reported on the 2nd floor of Pearce Hall. The minor was not an EWU student and had to be transported to Sacred Heart hospital.

An unknown person drove a car through a dead end on Lincoln street. The car sped down the street and over a dirt pile/ramp, and was launched over a driveway and into some bushes next to the Red Barn. The driver then abandoned the vehicle, which was later towed. The incident is under investigation.

* EWU Track and Field in Long Beach Invitational at Cerritos, Calif. at 10 a.m.

April 21 EWU Track and Field in Mt. Sac Relays at Walnut, Calif. at 10 a.m. * EWU Track and Field in Long Beach Invitational at Cerritos, Calif. at 10 a.m.

History of Eastern in pictures

Address: The Easterner EWU, Isle Hall 102 Cheney, WA 99004 Writers’ Meetings: The Easterner is open for any EWU student or faculty who wish to write or copy edit news stories.

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News Line: If you have a tip, letter to the editor, press release or an idea for a story please call The Easterner tip line

Photo courtesy of EWU Libraries, Archives and Special Collections John F. Kennedy Memorial Library front view, circa 1968.

at 509-359-6270 or the general office line at 509-359-4318.

About your paper: All content in The Easterner is either produced or chosen by EWU students. Our goal is to provide relevant information to the students, faculty, staff and residents of the communities surrounding EWU. Circulation: The Easterner publishes a weekly print version as well as web content during the week at http://sites.ewu. edu/easterneronline.

out the Cheney campus and business district as well as Riverpoint and various Spokane businesses. If you would like The Easterner to be distributed at your business call the Advertising Department at 509-359-7010.

Purchasing: The first copy of The Easterner is free.

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Photo by Evan Sykes Current John f. Kennedy Memorial Library front view. The only noticeable portion of the building that has not changed is the side in which has the metal sculpture attached.

* EWU Men’s Rugby vs. Western Washington at 12 p.m. * EWU Men's Tennis vs. Sacramento State in Big Sky tournament at Sacramento Calif. at 2 p.m.

Dylan Coil

senior reporter

easterner.news@gmail.com

Kristie Hsin

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April 22 EWU Women’s Golf in Big Sky Conference Championship at Chandler, Ariz.

April 23 EWU Women’s Golf in Big Sky Conference Championship at Chandler, Ariz.

April 24 EWU Women’s Golf in Big Sky Conference Championship at Chandler, Ariz.

April 27 EWU Track and Field in Pelluer Invitational at Cheney at 4 p.m.

Daniel Eik

Allen Duffy staff adviser

Jamie Tobias Neely

Crossword solution:

april

April 28 EWU Track and Field in Duane Hartmann Invitational at Spokane at 10 a.m. * EWU Football Red vs. White Spring game at 2 p.m.

May 5 EWU Track and Field in Vandal Jamboree at Moscow, Idaho at 10 a.m.

9

18, 2012 • sports

Women's tennis finishes sixth in Big Sky Team set to rebuild for next season

By Kyle Franko staff writer

kyle.franko3@gmail.com

Not even old enough to rent a car when she first arrived in Cheney, Mykala Hedberg moved across the country from Louisiana to accept the EWU associate head women’s tennis coaching position.

Since arriving in Washington and living with snow for the first time in her life, Mykala Hedberg, now 25 and the associate head women’s coach of the Eagles women’s tennis team, finished the season 4-15 overall and 2-6 in the Big Sky Conference.

Predicted fifth in the preseason poll, the Eastern Eagles ended the season losing their last four matches and finished sixth in the conference standings.

With one senior on the roster and two freshmen playing in the top three, the Lady Eagles are set to build upon a transitional season.

“It’s been a learning experience for me,” said Mykala Hedberg. “We’ve seen how things have worked, and what hasn’t worked so far.”

Mykala Hedberg – who said opposing coaches were surprised when they first saw her, assuming the youthful-looking coach was another player – will be planning out a workout schedule for the returning players and encouraging each to play in as many summer tournaments as possible.

Photo by Dylan Paulus Moira Hedberg was 9-10 in singles action. She also played doubles with Chelsea Patton and Christy Uriarte.

“There’s going to be a lot of things I’m going to be looking for from each and every single one of them, … because I want them to come back in the fall ready to go,” Mykala Hedberg said.

The young squad struggled through stretches of the season, but freshman Moira Hedberg was named the Big Sky Conference player of the week March 20. Playing No. 1 singles in all matches except the first, Moira finished

9-10 overall and 4-4 in the Big Sky. As the number one singles player, the Oxnard, Calif. native found herself squared up against the opposing teams’ best every match. The true freshman has been taking it all in stride.

“It’s been fun. I was a little bit nervous at first,” said Moira Hedberg. “Individually, I thought I did the best I could."

With her older sister as the coach, Moira Hedberg has been able to lean on her for more than tennis advice.

“It’s nice having someone there to talk to,” said Moira Hedberg. “Not just about tennis. But when I’m on the court and feel insecure, and I’m not doing my best, … she knows how to get me back up.”

This may have been the first season where Mykala Hedberg officially coached

her sister in a college setting, but the two have been working together for years.

Whenever Mykala Hedberg would travel home from Louisiana State University, the two would play tennis and practice hitting.

“It really hasn’t been that much different coming here, and [Moira Hedberg] listens really well,” said Mykala Hedberg. “She’s grown up watching me play, so she knows that I’ve been playing a long time. We don’t really have any arguments or fights because we’re friends too."

Mykala Hedberg finished her collegiate career in 2010.

Remembering that she is no longer a student-athlete proved challenging.

“In my mind, I’m still pretty fresh with playing and being out on the tennis court,” said Mykala Hedberg. “It’s a little difficult right now having to separate the two. I love competing and I think they could sense I came into this hungry to kind of continue with the program that was here.”

Junior Chelsea Patton, who finished 2-16 overall and 1-6 in the Big Sky, is grateful Mykala Hedberg made the trip from Louisiana.

“A lot of people didn’t want to take the job. It’s technically the ‘associate,’ and it’s not the head women’s coach,” said Patton. “People were skeptical about taking the job, but …

I’m really glad she took the risk, came and helped us.

“I know she wants to shove it in everyone’s face how good we are. How good we can be.”

Walker overcomes injuries and setbacks Thrower reflects on bus accident and recovery

Shot Put 37-10

packerfan4life@gmail.com

Taylor Walker can laugh about it now, but it was not so funny at the time.

On Feb. 13, 2009, two buses carrying the Eastern Washington University track and field team were involved in an accident after a driver cut off one of the buses heading westbound on Highway 520 in the greater Seattle area.

Walker, a freshman at the time, Walker was on board one of these buses and among the students injured in the accident.

“It was Friday the 13th,” Walker said. “We all kind of joked about it, like ‘it’s a bad day to travel, get in an accident.’

“I broke my cheekbone, so that

World Cup: continued from front page

Berto Cerrillo, adviser for campus programs for Student Activities Involvement and Leadership, is helping put the event together. He and Ocaña share the same goals. Cerrillo said he hopes the EWU World Cup allows students to get involved and be engaged.

“I really like that aspect that students from any part of the world can come together around a game and enjoy themselves,” Cerrillo said.

Not only does he hope the event becomes a staple at Eastern, Cerrillo also would like the event to bring the campus community together.

He would like the event to promote a vibrant interaction between students of all different backgrounds.

“I love what it’s trying to do. I hope that other people see it for that,” Cerrillo said.

“The whole idea behind this is to build a stronger community amongst one another.”

Taylor Walker Indoor Best

By Peter Sowards contributing writer

The Easterner is distributed through-

eagle life editor

Comic

EWU Track and Field in Mt. Sac Relays at Walnut, Calif. at 10 a.m.

page

Weight Throw 37-8 Outdoor Best Shot put 33-7 1/2 Hammer throw 113-9 Javelin 134-1 kind of sucked. Got a black eye from it.”

A thrower on the javelin team, Walker was unable to compete in the weekend’s events. She was looking forward to the final meets of her freshman year after recovering from the broken cheekbone when she was once again met with ill fate after being involved in another car accident a week before the conference championships.

Walker tore all the tendons in her

The event, which spans two days, is similar to the way the FIFA World Cup works.

The first day will be pool play, where all teams play each other. The second day will be a single elimination tournament format. Teams will each be assigned one faculty or staff member. Campitelli is hoping the event gains interest from staff and faculty.

“We’re going to try to hook you up with a faculty or staff member to play on your team, which I think is going to be totally cool,” Campitelli said.

Campitelli said the idea to have teams representing their own countries is something that separates the project from other events. He lauded Ocaña’s vision and said that the president is attempting something that he hopes will last at EWU. “He wants to leave a legacy here at the university,” Campitelli said. “Oscar had a great idea and … I’m proud of him because it’s a very cool concept and something we’ve never done on this campus before.”

foot and was in a boot the entire summer.

Walker spent the summer rehabilitating her injuries and was fully healed when she was involved in yet another car crash. This was more severe, not only for herself, but also for those with whom she was riding.

“I was with my teammates,” Walker said. “One of them had to get staples in the back of her head, one of them messed up her knee and I got a broken wrist from it, totaled my car.”

Walker was forced to use the 2009-10 season as a medical redshirt season due to the injuries she sustained. She did not, however, let the injuries keep her down for long, according to women’s track and field coach Marcia Mecklenburg.

“She really stuck with it through some adversity and chose to continue to throw through this after she had recovered,” Mecklenburg said. “[She] has come back and [set personal records] for us and scored for us. [She] scored last year for us at the conference championships.

“She has overcome some adver-

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sity and stuck with it and really has helped the team out in doing that.”

Walker’s personal record in the javelin throw is 134-1, but she hopes to better that mark at the upcoming conference championships in Bozeman, Mont. When asked if she ever came close to giving up athletics, Walker, now a junior majoring in recreational management, seemed appalled at the very notion and said that she came closer to giving up driving than she did being an athlete.

“Never in my mind did I think I would just stop doing track,” Walker said. “It’s such a huge part of my life.”

Walker relied heavily on her teammates for support in her recovery, especially the javelin throwers.

“The javelin crew is pretty tightknit. They didn’t want me to give it up. … There were times when it kind of sucked, but they helped me through it.

“I want to hit over 140,” Walker said, referring to her goals for the conference championships.

“If you hit that, that puts you in a spot to go to regionals.”

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page

SPORTS

10

sports

• april 18, 2012

EWU Sports in Brief

Eagles push their game to the next level Seniors get ready for pros

camps including Dallas, Chicago and Philadelphia.

“I grew up a Cowboys fan, so visiting there was really cool,” Johnson said. “But if any team wants me, I’m not going to complain.”

Currently, Johnson is taking some spring classes and staying prepared for workouts and visits.

“I just know I’ll be playing football somewhere,” Johnson said. “If I get drafted or picked up as a free agent, it’ll be fine either way.”

In the worst case scenario, if he is not playing next year, Johnson wants to get an assistant position somewhere and start coaching football.

“That’s what I eventually want to do after I play,” Johnson said. “But I think I’ll play somewhere whether it’s the NFL or maybe CFL.”

By Fedor Gaponenko staff writer

fgaponenko76@gmail.com Navarro

Eagles finish regular season in Montana — The EWU men's tennis team ended their regular season with a defeat from the No. 1 ranked Montana Grizzlies, 6-1, April 14. The Eagles ended their regular season with a conference record of 6-2, earning No. 3 in the Big Sky Conference. Sophomore Mario Navarro won his singles match, defeating Montana's Andrew Warren, 6-4, 7-5. Navarro was also victorious in doubles action as he and junior Ilija Čuić beat The Grizzlies' Ben DeMarios and Carl Kuschke, 8-4. The Eagles will compete in the Big Sky Conference Men's Tennis Championships April 21-22 where they will face the No. 2 Sacamento State Hornets. The Hornets, who have won three straight Big Sky tournament titles, defeated Eastern in the regular season, 4-3, March 27.

Mam to play for Cambodia in Davis Cup — EWU alumni Pannhara Mam, class of 2008, will be competing in the Davis Cup as a member of the Cambodian national team.

The Davis Cup is an international team event that features 130 teams. Cambodia is one of several teams making their debut in the Davis Cup. With 48 wins in singles competition throughout his career, Mam helped EWU win the Big Sky tournament championship in 2008. Mam holds the record for doubles wins with partner Kyle Schrader and was selected for the All-Big Sky First-Team his freshman, sophomore, junior and senior year.

Leavitt sets record at Boppell Track, Davis qualifies — Senior sprinter Whitney Leavitt was just one of several EWU track and field athletes who captured wins at the inagural Whitworth Twilight, April 12.

Leavitt was victorious in the 100 meter with12.25. She also won the 200 and set the Boppell track record in the 200 with a time of 24.79.

Eastern won a total of 14 events, including senior Shene Davis, who won the long jump with a mark of 18-4 1/4 and the triple jump with 37-3 1/4, which qualified her for the Big Sky Conference Outdoor championships. She and Leavitt were also a part of the Eastern women's 4x100 relay team, along with Angelica Rodriguez and Nicole Nida.

The Inferno is once again buzzing with the sound of whistles and clamor of football gear as coaches and players prepare for another season.

But for three former Eagles, the future is not yet certain.

After being team leaders, earning individual honors and helping the Eagles win their first ever national championship in 2011, Walter Payton award-winning quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell, first-team All-Big Sky defensive tackle Renard Williams and first-team All-Big Sky strong safety Matt Johnson have all garnered interest from both the NFL and Canadian Football League.

“I’m excited for all three of those guys,” Eagles head coach Beau Baldwin said. “They each obviously had amazing careers. Every one of them at one time or another has been an All-American player or All-League player, so those kinds of things are rare. Three guys in the same class that are coming out that have done some amazing things, for two of them four years and for Bo [Levi Mitchell] two years, but all the same it’s pretty special.”

Baldwin was reluctant to predict where his former players would end up, but he is confident in their abilities and will not be shocked to see them with great success at the NFL level.

“You never know what the NFL is thinking or what anyone is thinking,” Baldwin said. “All I know is that every one of those guys was a great football player for us. [In terms of] their opportunity for the next level, it’s not going to shock me at all if every one of those guys is in an NFL camp getting an opportunity. That’s what I expect, and they’re going to just have to run with it.”

Bo Levi Mitchell Mitchell is currently living in Addison, Texas with his best friend and has already worked in front of several NFL scouts, including EWU’s Pro Day on March 7 at the Spokane Shock practice facility in Spokane.

“It was kind of a starting point when you hear from the NFL teams

Renard Williams

Photo by Aaron Malmoe Bo Levi Mitchell has earned several awards at EWU, including the Walter Payton award.

and find out what they thought,” Mitchell said.

The big one was on April 4 at Southern Methodist University near Dallas where Mitchell was able to throw for scouts from 24 teams.

“A lot of exposure just throwing out there for those guys,” Mitchell said. “Let loose and let everything take care of itself. It was a good experience. It’s really like a domino effect. If you get one or two scouts talking about you, the rest of them start talking about you.”

Although Mitchell feels that the pro days went well, he is keeping his options open and has discussed the possibility of signing with CFL’s Calgary Stampeders.

“Obviously, the main route is to go to the NFL, but for a lot of guys, that’s not how it works out,” Mitchell said. “With me being six-foot, the chances are slimmer than if I was six-foot-four.”

Mitchell visited with the Stampeders on April 15.

“Canada is a route I might take because it fits my game well just to go out there, sling the ball around and play my game,” Mitchell said.

According to Mitchell, the most important thing is that he gets to play professional football in the fall.

“I’d rather be somewhere where I can start playing right away and keep my game going,” Mitchell said. “If I had a choice between practic[ing] in the NFL or start[ing] in Canada, I think I’d go to Canada.”

Matt Johnson Johnson also worked out at EWU’s Pro Day on March 7 in front of the Packers, Colts, Browns, Giants and Seahawks.

“I was pretty happy with everything,” Johnson said. “For a perfect day, I was a bit low on some of my stuff, but I can’t complain.”

He has also visited several

Apart from EWU’s Pro Day, Williams has had a visit with the Seahawks.

“Working with the Seahawks went really well,” Williams said.

“They had me run through a lot of position drills. Overall, I feel like I did well.”

That is the only workout he has had so far, but he has had calls from other teams too. Williams believes that he is “definitely” ready to play at the NFL level.

“There were a lot of questions after my junior year... if I was going to come out after we won the national championship,” Williams said. “I wasn’t ready at that time, so I came back and got another season under my belt and I truly feel ready now.”

Williams does not have a “dream team” that he would like to play for.

“It truly would be a blessing to get an opportunity with any team in the NFL,” Williams said. “Anyone who’s willing to give me an opportunity, I will be blessed to have it.”

Williams is staying with his family in Port Orchard, Wash., and wanted to give a shout out to the football team, saying that he is expecting big things for them this season.

To Williams, getting to hear his name called in the NFL draft would be one of the happiest moments in his life.

“I’m going to be overwhelmed with joy,” Williams said. “Growing up playing peewee ball and junior high and high school and collegiate and now, it will be the next step.

If I’m blessed enough to hear my name, I’m just going to be overjoyed.”

Runners go the distance Conference qualifiers vie for positioning

By Kyle Franko staff writer

kyle.franko3@gmail.com

Kyle King has a debt to pay.

The former indoor 5,000-meter conference champion has never scored for the EWU men’s track and field team at an outdoor championship meet.

This season, he is looking to make amends.

King said he has been on a scholarship for a long time and anyone who is should be scoring points for the team at championship meets – something he has never done running outdoors.

“My freshman year, I was a freshman. Sophomore year, I had mono,” said King, who after graduating this spring is headed to the University of Oklahoma to run in a different shade of red. “This is my first year fully healthy and ready to roll, so I need to pay some debts this spring.”

This outdoor season may be the perfect opportunity because conference standout Diego Estrada – a five-time track and field All-America selection from Northern Arizona University – is redshirting.

Currently, King has the second fastest time in the 5,000 – the 14 minute, 10 second mark was an outdoor personal record and is the third fastest time in school history. But his best

event is the 10,000, where he already owns the school record.

“Kyle [King] has shown he’s one of the best in the conference in longer races,” said assistant coach Chris Zeller. “[He’s] going to run a 10K next week at [the] Mt. Sac [Relays]. … That will hopefully set him up well to win the conference.”

King is not the only distance runner expected to contribute in a major way.

Senior Bowe Ebding, along with sophomores Tim Pettit and Jordan Curnutt, have all qualified for the Big Sky Outdoor Championships in Bozeman, Mont., May 9-12.

Pettit and Curnutt both are in the top 10 for fastest conference times in the 800.

Both reached the qualifying mark March 31 at the Montana Al Manuel Invitational, in Missoula, Mont.

In that meet, Pettit set a personal record of 1:52.38 in the 800, but the mark came at a cost.

“I did something to my hamstring, just doing strides the day before. And it just got really tight on the inside. I didn’t really think anything about it. I just ran through it,” said Pettit.

“I went in to talk to Shawn [Edgerly, an assistant athletic trainer,] afterwards, and I guess my hips were out of placement. It caused extra tension on my right hamstring.”

For Pettit, taking two weeks to rehabilitate the hamstring was a setback and a frustrating experience.

“That actually really, really sucked,” said Pettit.

“Just being in the best shape of my life and then not being able to do even track workouts for a week.”

Pettit is slowly working his way back and expects to be at full strength soon.

He will need to be fully healthy to reach his goal of achieving all-conference, something Pettit and Curnutt missed at the 2012 indoor championships.

Entering the final meet of the indoor season in Flagstaff, Ariz., Curnutt was seeded third and Pettit fourth in the 800.

However, neither finished in the top eight.

“At 7,000 feet, … they just kind of blew up and really ran pretty horribly,” said Zeller. “They have a little bit of a chip on their shoulders this spring. They want to prove themselves.

We expect both of them to be battling for top five and ideally top three.”

Like King, Ebding has qualified for the championships in the 5,000, but the senior’s focus and best chance for an all-conference performance is in the 10,000.

With a personal record of 30:56.84 in the 10,000, Ebding hopes that this season he can break the 30 minute mark.

Either way, Ebding knows he is headed to Bozeman, Mont. for his last Big Sky Conference Championships.

“It’s been a lot of miles, a lot of work and it’ll be really

Photo by Dylan Paulus Senior Bowe Ebding has qualified for the Big Sky Outoor Championships.

interesting when that’s all said and done. It’ll be really emotional, I think.”

For now, though, Ebding is enjoying his final season at EWU. “We got a good group

of guys, really fun group of guys, motivated and putting in a lot of good miles, putting in a lot of good work,” Ebding said. “It’s going to be really tough to walk away from.”